Ask good questions and keep moving forward, even when you don't know what's around the next corner. That's the key lesson Nick Barton "14 says he'll take away from his two years in the Lundquist College of Business Honors Program.

Barton was drawn to the program's cohort structure and rigorous curriculum, but worried he'd have to defend his smarts and fight his fellow students for top grades. After a few weeks, however, Barton's cutthroat vision had been happily shattered. Instead, success in the Honors Program requires collaboration—and the close-knit environment lifts everyone to new heights. All thirty-five students are in it together.

“I realized that Honors was where I belonged if I wanted to continue to challenge myself and grow as much as possible as a student and a person," said Barton.

Barton quickly immersed himself in the Honors experience. He stretched his academic limits, joined the college's CEO Network—an on-campus group dedicated to helping underrepresented minority students gain full-major status admission to Lundquist College.

“I realized this was where I belonged. The Honors Program and the CEO Network has instilled this sense of confidence in me that I feel like I am a top candidate and I do belong at good companies."

“I made some of the best friends I think I'll make in my lifetime," Barton said of the CEO Network and the Honors Program.

For his experience, Barton said he discovered that mistakes and so-called failures often provide the richest learning opportunities. Instead of dwelling on the past, figure out what went wrong and give it another shot.

“I can't even tell you how helpful that lesson has been," he said.

In 2013, Barton secured a summer internship at Intuit and was tasked with creating an automated system that had stumped the company's financial team. Barton didn't know where to start, but by the end of the summer, he had built the full solution—a milestone that no one expected him to reach in just four months. His secret? Barton said he simply applied what he had learned in the Honors Program: ask questions, perform your due diligence, and just keep moving forward.